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A House in Westland

Pascoe & Hall, Christchurch

This small house of 900 sq. ft. has a large living-room and two small bedrooms. Finished eighteen months ago, it is situated at Ngakawau, north of Westport, on the West Coast of the South Island.

The district is very rainy, the pronounced overhang to eaves in front was designed to break the heavy falls of rain over the big windows. The house does not claim to be an unusual one; it can be said to be an economical direct answer to the problem of providing a small house in a part of New Zealand that is different from any other. The cost would be within the reach of the average.

The West Coast has an isolation only reached by two major roads (one of which is often broken by mountain storm slips), the sea (limited), the railway, and the air (unlimited). It is the area of the famous Erewhon (nowhere) of Samuel Butler, and Architecture with a capital A has had few opportunities to leave its mark.